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Why Me?

Don’t think I’m throwing a pity party, but why can’t my body just leave well enough alone? It’s almost like since I had the endometrial ablation in February 2006 that my body is rebelling against me. I finally had to relent to having a hysterectomy. If it hadn’t been for anemia so severe that I had to have iron infusions, I would have fought longer to keep my uterus; but I couldn’t, I had no choice.

I was OK for about 14 months after the hystectomy, just enough time to really get healed and back to myself. I was able to keep my ovaries so I was very happy. I could still tell I was cycling regularly so had no need to worry about menopause any time soon, right? Wrong. In October of 2007, I started having left-sided pelvic pain. It increased to the point in January 2008 that I went back to the gyn. He couldn’t feel anything, but of course, I am, as I say, very “fluffy.” He decided to do an ultrasound just to make sure. Sure enough, there it was, a 7.5 cm ovarian cyst. Just to be safe, my gyn did a CA-125 test for ovarian cancer. This came back negative. He wanted to wait six weeks and do another ultrasound. Many times cysts resolve themselves. I was doubtful as I’d been having the pain since October. Again, sure enough, I was back in three weeks because it was getting worse. Another ultrasound was done and the cyst was the same size. My doctor decided to go in and take the cyst out, and take the left ovary and tube if necessary. It was. By the time they got in, the cyst was the size of a small canteloupe and took 2 1/2 hours to get out! The OR nurses were taking bets on whether my doctor could do it laparoscopically. Thank goodness he’s a great surgeon!

After that, I started healing again, no left side pain. Things were good, but my body just couldn’t leave well enough alone. On Saturday night, March 29, my right side under my rib cage was…how to put it? Uncomfortable. Sort of like trapped gas. I didn’t sleep well. Sunday was the same way. My husband had a cold and I started taking it. On Monday, I stayed at home. After my husband left for work, I had breakfast…and the uncomfortableness turned to pain. I couldn’t take a deep breath or move quickly without that spot hurting. So, obviously, gall bladder comes to mind. I searched the Internet and it sounded very much like what I was experiencing. I told my husband I was going to the doctor that afternoon. After lunch, the pain again got worse…and my husband decided the ER was the best place to go. We got there at 2:30 and by the time I had an ultrasound about 2 hours later, I was in so much pain that it hurt for the technician to touch me. My gall bladder was almost totally blocked by hundreds of small stones. By the time they took me to surgery the next morning, I was throwing up blood and bile. So, that was my April Fool’s Day for 2008!

Again, after this surgery, I started healing, all be it a little slowly considering that I had had two surgeries within five weeks of each other. That much general anesthesia makes you a little foggy to say the least, but by June I was definitely on the mend. My body still isn’t satisfied. During the summer I began having right sided pelvic and back and hip pain. After having an MRI and a colonoscopy that showed nothing, my doctor is now performing an exploratory laparotomy to remove my right ovary and tube, and take down the many adhesions that he knows are there from my surgery in February and which he suspects are the main problem contributing to my pain. The pain has progressed to the point that I cannot wear jeans; the pressure makes me hurt and makes me extremely nauseous at times. I am taking pain pills on a consistent basis. This is no way to live. Next Thursday hopefully this whole ugly saga will come to an end. I will have lost my uterus, both ovaries and tubes, and my gall bladder. There is nothing left that isn’t necessary to daily life other than my appendix! Fortunately we know that looks good because of the colonoscopy.

I ask for your prayers as I go to the hospital. Pray that God will be with me and with my wonderful doctor, that he will make the right decisions and ask for help if he needs it. Pray that I will heal quickly and get back to my life. I have much to do in 2009! I have a great job to get back to, I have nieces to watch graduate from high school and grow, and I’m walking in the 2009 Atlanta 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk in October! I need to get to work raising my money and training with my team! I am looking forward to time with my wonderful husband in the mountains and in Charleston and attending his nephew’s wedding in May. There’s a lot to look forward to so I’m ready to start healing and start living again!